The Townsfolk of Sainte Marie du Mont Who Hid for D-Day

The citizens of Sainte Marie du Mont, a town of about 500 people, hid in their basements and cellars during the D-Day fighting. When American paratroopers from the 101st Airborne arrived (several landed right on the church steeple), they found civilians still wearing pajamas under their coats. An elderly woman named Marie Pitou, age 79, was found hiding in her barn with three generations of her family. She had spent D-Day making jam despite the battle. A local farmer named Auguste Lecoeur guided American forces through the bocage (hedgerow country) because he knew every lane and hidden pathway — knowledge that proved invaluable.